Alert archive / Virginia / Flash Flood Warnings in 2003

Flash Flood Warning 88, NWS Baltimore/Washington

August 5, 2003Nelson County, Virginia

NWS Baltimore/Washington issued this flash flood warning at Aug 5, 2003, 1:00 AM EDT for Nelson County, Virginia. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Aug 5, 2003, 1:00 AM EDT (05:00 UTC)
Expired
Aug 5, 2003, 4:00 AM EDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Baltimore/Washington
Area
Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Nelson County, VA

The radar

The Roanoke radar (KFCX), 149 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:02 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Roanoke, VA (KRNK), launched 00:00Z, 5.0 hours before the alert went out and 85 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Roanoke, VA at 00:00Z on 2003-08-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 729 joules per kilogram.LCLEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Roanoke, VA at 00:00Z on 2003-08-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 12 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
729 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1228 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
12 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
42 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.5

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Baltimore/Washington wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Aug 4, 9:45 PM EDT, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 4, 9:45 PM EDT, 3 hours 15 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 4, 11:19 AM EDT, 13 hours 41 minutes before
DCZ001-MDZ002>007-009>011-013-014-016>018-VAZ021-025>031-036>042-
050>057-WVZ048>055-050800-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
1119 AM EDT MON AUG 4 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR MARYLAND WEST OF THE CHESAPEAKE
BAY AND EAST OF GARRETT COUNTY...THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA...NORTHERN
VIRGINIA...THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL SHENANDOAH VALLEY...AND THE
EASTERN PANHANDLE OF WEST VIRGINIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP LATE TODAY AND BECOME MORE
NUMEROUS TONIGHT. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG AND
WEST OF THE BLUE RIDGE.

FOR NELSON AND ALBEMARLE COUNTIES...DUE TO RECENT HEAVY RAINS
ADDITIONAL RAINFALL IN EXCESS OF 1.7 INCHES IN ONE HOUR COULD CAUSE
FLOODING LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE REGION TUESDAY. AT
THIS TIME... HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED BEYOND TUESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.

ABW

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Aug 4, 7:28 PM EDT, 5 hours 32 minutes before
VAZ041-050030-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
728 PM EDT MON AUG 4 2003

...HEAVY RAIN OVER NORTHERN FAUQUIER COUNTY...

THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN HAVE PERSISTED OVER NORTHERN FAUQUIER
COUNTY FOR THE LAST 90 MINUTES OR SO. RADAR RAINFALL ESTIMATES
INDICATE THAT UP TO 2.5 INCHES OF RAIN HAS FALLEN SINCE 630 PM NEAR
RECTORTOWN.

PEOPLE IN RURAL SECTIONS OF FAUQUIER COUNTY BETWEEN DELAPLANE AND
MIDDLEBURG SHOULD BE ALERT FOR HIGH STANDING WATER ON ROADS AND IN
AREAS OF POOR DRAINAGE.

REPORT ANY FLOODING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AND ASK THEM TO RELAY THE
MESSAGE TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.

RDH
Local storm report, Aug 4, 9:04 PM EDT, 3 hours 56 minutes before
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The office that day

Everything else NWS Baltimore/Washington issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Aug 5, 3:59 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXRockingham31 min
Aug 5, 4:30 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXRockingham45 min
Aug 5, 6:58 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXGreene, Madison, Orange47 min
Aug 5, 7:41 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLWXCulpeper, Fauquier, Stafford64 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Virginia, 2003Every flash flood warning in 2003

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.